Like a tiger
by SomecallmeMichelle
Summary: Where Max fights to defend both herself and Terry, and there are slight hints of Merry (tax)


Though she felt the lump in her throat, and it threatened to close, perhaps as an after effect of all the running she had done, to get to the place on time, perhaps just of all the emotions she was going through, she couldn't really tell herself what to do to stop it. Tears threatened to spill over from the orbs that were her eyes, and she could only half yell Terry's name as she watched the action unfold. The half yell, caught in her throat, just added to the pressure that was in that particular spot, and it was like she was being suffocated. She couldn't stand to breathe as she saw her best friend. The hero that helped the needy in what was probably one of the biggest stains of awfulness in what had once been a great place, She had run and she had run and still it'd seem she had been too late.

It could only be her impression but it seemed that her friend, Terry, known to most, if not all, as the Batman of the future, briefly looked sideways at her. It was a small distraction, but a distraction nonetheless, and, when you're in a fight, that half a second distraction is all you need. The foe was bigger, and, while it was slower, that didn't really matter when the hero of the night wasn't really looking at it, did it? Before Max had gotten there, the fight had consisted mostly of dodging and the occasional retort from Terry, whose Batman suit provided extra strength and, while the attacks hurt, and probably hit like a freaking anvil, the goons were hooked up on some kind of new drug. It wasn't the first experimental drugs had ended up on the streets, accidentally leaked by arms manufacturers like Lex Luthor or Derek Powers. Drugs that were supposed to be sold to the government, or be handled with care. Heck, it had lead to the creation of people with superpowers some 45 something years back (another story, which perhaps deserves another telling), but it was an inconvenience for the people trying to keep the order. And not just so called vigilantes like the dark knight from the future, Terry. But also the police. Commissioner Gordon was having a ton of trouble and while they had a off the records collaboration, she didn't know that he was here fighting this extremely ripped guy.

Max half yell and half a second of distraction of distraction was all the goon needed. He looked like a stereotypical bum, with clothes ripped and reeking of sewer, which was aided by the stains on them, all yellow and brown, and Max would actually feel sorry for him, if it weren't for the fact he had used that half a second of distraction to pump his best friend with a heavy uppercut. Terry was thrown upwards, and, while they were in the docks and there wasn't really anything he could hit, being hit in the head was disorienting enough that the dark knight, aka Terry couldn't recover his bearings fast enough not to get hit a second and a third time, in the chest.

He stumbled, as the goliath like figure over the slim figure of the Batman of the future towered over him, ready to keep punching him. Truthfully the suit took most of the damage, and the original Batman, when the only protection was some padding and kevlar, had suffered more, but he would still have some heavy bruises in the morning. As it was night. The voice intercom in his suit was hit with his mentor trying to make him focus on the fight. But Terry had been hit pretty bad. Terry stumbled, dropping down and falling down on one knee.

Max bit her lower lip in frustration, making it purple, and not just because of the lipstick she was wearing when she noticed Terry, or "Terr" as she called him might have been in trouble. Then she had followed him, no really plan,, no weapons, and no real way of alerting someone if the two of them got caught. Then again, who could she trust with Terry's secret?

The goon smiled,having apparently figured out that his battle was won, he murmured into the night, though it wasn't a gentle murmur, as of gentle that giant had nothing. And Max cursed luck for having taken them to an empty side of the docks, which were so huge. If only she had an attack dog like Ace! Now that dog would be super useful!

The goon approached Terry, even his torso wasn't much bigger than the giant's feet, for a second there Max feared that the goon would just grab Terry by the head or worse, kick him in the head. But the giant only laughed, Max knew that she didn't have a whole lot of time. She noticed that, by the water, there were this small round stone pebbles. She took aim and threw them at the back of his head.

If he noticed them it made no impact. It was like a speck of dust. The giant was so out of it, probably from the drug, that he didn't seem to care. Max held her breathing and understood what the giant was saying, and a shiver came to her spine. It was an endless madness mantra.

" **I killed the Batman, I killed the Batman!"**

Terry was still shaking, barely holding himself together, unable to defend himself, and that just screamed unfair to her. As a young african american woman, smart as she was, she had been the victim of injustice a whole lot of times, not just because of her smartness or her race, or even her gender. But also for a set number of arbitrary reasons...but this...Terry did nothing more than help others and this was the pay he got?

Though the skies were red, from what knows what chemical substances had been polluting it over the last 300 years ever since humans had settled there, that wasn't the only thing that turned red in Max's vision. Everything in her path became tinted. And she could swear she tasted blood. Every cell on her body was electrified as ran against the giant.

A small part of her was aware that this was a real stupid move, what was she 5 foot 7? Perhaps not even that? And she was jumping on the back of a 8 foot giant. But she didn't really care. She screamed And she screamed. and the giant turned around to face her. Terry could only stand to watch. He couldn't defend her, not this time, and even if he could, in the state Max was in, he was pretty sure she would take offense to the suggestion. Max could be lots of things. But when she got into one of her….well Terry liked to be polite and call them episodes...there wasn't much anyone could do to stop her.

It normally turned into something relatively harmless like finding out who belonged to notorious criminal gang, a bad idea, sure, but he could help her there, or finding out who was the original dark knight and mentor to Terry...simple stuff.

But he could only hope to whatever deity his family and her family, and Mr Wayne (he had never asked him, but would probably get a cynical answer if he knew him), worshipped, , that she would be alright. She knew some half assed fighting moves, nothing like him, as the dark knight knew, and she had no suit, but she was, no doubt, clever. Terry just hoped that cleverness would keep her alive.

Max knew of the two weak spots in any male...the eyes, and the….well, the genitalia. She had had no brothers, but she had had the Jokerz or any other criminal group making their moves on her too often not to have learned. It was also innate knowledge any female knows...like she said, crap place to live. But a wonderful place in terms of new technology.

So even as she charged, and even if she wasn't being 100 percent rational a single permeating thought went through her mind. A brutal thought went through her mind. "Go for the eyes"

Like a tiger she ran and she jumped at just the right time, if the goon were more aware of what she planned on doing he might have gotten himself to stand up straight, so there was no possible way Max could get to him. But he had no idea, he stood like a quarterback, ready to charge, a smile in his face, challenging her to do anything she dared. He looked at her like scared little pretty prey that would just run away. It was a surprise...but one that wasn't unpleasant.

Max leapt, and, while she wasn't the most vapid of girls, she wasn't her sister, she had recently gotten herself some fake nails, which had one feature that stood out, while not overly long, they were very sharp. Max hung in the air for some seconds, no more than 3 or 4, and grabbed herself around the head of the goon. He screamed,. but the pain was yet to start.

Grabbing herself with one arm around his neck, which was ripped as a tree stump, and provided just enough support, she dug 5 of her nails deep into his right eye. His scream could have pierced the heavens. Half blind he ran around, like a chicken without his head. Max thought best to drop from his neck, and cover Terry's body, lest the half blind man step over Terry. She dropped, and awkwardly rolled. Not as easy as in the movies, it turns out.

She immediately ran towards Terry and helped him put some of his weight on her shoulders. They both groaned. Now that they weren't in any danger, her normal vision was returning, and she felt very tired. She stumbled, and Terry immediately pulled out of her embrace, so he could stand, but he, too faltered. Max grabbed him.

"Look"

The man was still screaming in pain, his two as large as boulders hands over his one eye, despite that the blood still could be seen falling, wetting his shirt, that was already ruined, and his neck. It'd seem that if Max hadn't jumped of her own, she would have slipped off anyway.

"Pretty brutal"

Max stopped, so that the half mad man could pass the two of them just a few meters in front of them, she lowered her voice so they weren't heard and she whispered.

"And I suppose holding creeps upside down 50 stories from the ground up, isn't? Nobody hurts you!"

Though he still wore his mask, Max could swear Terry smiled through it all. His chest hurt, he couldn't feel his legs, and he would very likely piss blood in the morning, but Max had proven himself to be a very schway(cool) ally.

She couldn't, however, escape the eventual chewing from Mr Wayne. For now all he had to give was a short message.

"Bruce wants me to tell you that what you did was incredible stupid, idiotic, and you wouldn't even have to intervene if you hadn't followed me." - There was a pause, and the following words had a tone of amusement in Terry's voice in them. - "But he's impressed. with what you did."

Max sighed, she felt very tired.

""Thanks."

They were about to leave the docks when the man stopped to look at them, he looked kind of scary, a river of blood falling down his face, and a slice down his eyes. He stared at them two.

"You"

"If you don't run, I'll do the same, but to your testicles, which are your balls."

Now, one may be high on some highly intoxicating and testosterone inducing drugs, but even then one thing holds sacred to all men...you value your genitalia...a lot. The man took one look at his covered balls, gave out a whimper, and started running away.

"Shouldn't we follow him? I mean it's my job to catch criminals."

Max held Terry closer, both so that he didn't fall, and so that he could feel his heartbeat, through the suit.

"Let the police handle it, and I still gotta walk all that way back too…."

Terry pushed the Batmobile down, how Max had been able to follow it, was not to be mentioned it, but it had taken a while, she had to go and go home, it was late, she was tired.

"Want a ride?"


End file.
